At the beginning of this course I was very
apprehensive about research and found it difficult to grasp many of the terms.
Though I still do not consider myself to be adept on the topic, I do feel as
though I have learned a great deal about research in early childhood.
In the past when I thought of research, I thought
only “experts” could conduct the research. I understand now, that anyone can conduct research; though I still have a
hard time seeing myself as a researcher. I had never thought about what went
into planning, designing and conducting research, but throughout this class I
have learned about the steps and processes required to conduct a valid research
study. I have also learned about the different methods and designs.
I encountered many challenges during this course,
the biggest being that I spent three weeks of the course at
conferences/trainings and found myself stressing over the fact I wasn’t
“getting it”. I had very little time to devote to studying and completing
assignments and feel that may be part of my “block,” because I still don’t
fully understand the process. In an effort to overcome my challenges I read and
reread the course material trying to make sense of it all. I found it difficult
to develop a question for my simulation, but by completing the charts I was
finally able to break down my thoughts and develop a question.
Though I do not
fully comprehend the full breadth of research, I feel as though I have learned
a great deal overall. The assignments were set-up to help me break everything
down step-by-step and the feedback from Dr. Todd was invaluable.
Overall, this course has helped me realize the value
of research and how important it is to the early childhood field. As an early
childhood professional I want to make sure that I am aware of current research
and that I use research as a guide when designing & implementing programs
for the young children with whom I interact.
3 comments:
Crystal,
I can relate to your experience of feeling frustrated at not being able to grasp a concept immediately. I too found the weekly charts extremely helpful since it required me to fully understand a concept before I was able to fill out the chart. Like you, although I have a much better understanding of the research process, I cannot see myself in a position of actually conducting research. Overall, I value research and the work of researchers and will continue to be a consumer of research to support my work as an early childhood educator.
I have enjoyed reading your posts and your insights and feedback are much appreciated. Best of luck as you continue your educational journey and as you grow as an early childhood professional!
Crystal,
You are not alone in feeling overwhelmed with the course work, especially the vocabulary. I too found that at times it was very challenging to understand and grasp. I agree with you when you say you want to be aware of the research in the field. I feel that we all benefitted from this course.
Good luck in the future!
Eileen
Crystal,
Definitely taking and iPod is a good idea because you can take a lot of information and use it in the future.
I also like your idea of keeping important in a safe place. Good work with preventing!!
Amelia
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